December 24, 2022
The 13-1 Philadelphia Eagles are on the brink of clinching an NFC East title, as well as the 1 seed in the NFC, which would of course give them a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. If they are able to beat the Cowboys in Dallas, they can celebrate in Jerry Jones' house with hats and t-shirts.
The Eagles will be without MVP candidate Jalen Hurts for this matchup, as he is healing up from a sprained shoulder suffered Week 15 against the Chicago Bears. With Hurts out, Gardner Minshew will get the start, and Ian Book will back him up. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have injury concerns along their offensive line, at cornerback, and at linebacker. You can find the full Eagles-Cowboys injury report here.
As we noted in our five matchups to watch, the Eagles will be facing yet another run-heavy offense, something they have done quite a bit of in recent games. Dak Prescott is the Cowboys' most recognizable player, but the run game behind Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott is the engine that powers their offense. The Eagles will seek to slow down Dallas' rushing attack, and then try to get after Prescott with their dominant pass rush. On the other side of the ball, expect the Eagles to come out throwing even with Minshew at quarterback, as the Birds should have matchup advantages with their receivers against the Cowboys' depleted corners.
The Eagles are 5-point road underdogs, a curious line, given that the Eagles are arguably the better football team even without Hurts. Here are our staff writer picks as well as who some others around the country are picking.
Fell free to discuss the game (and the other earlier games) in the comment section below.
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